Yep, he's 100% a net negative to this thread. Brings absolutely zero value.
Listen buddy....I asked you to clean up the way you speak. I didn't ask for the lip or explanation. You lack objectivity. Clean that up.I don’t care who won booker of the year. What I pointed out from Friday is sound logic. If you can’t understand that then maybe wrestling is too high level of an intellectual product for you. 😬
This, in a nutshell, says a lot - you (and most others) say he lacks objectivity then he responds and tries to insult your intelligence. He’s the TK of this board no doubt.
I was thinking the opposite. Torrie didn't need to chop up her face but she did.1. Michelle McCool has not aged nearly as well Torrie Wilson.
I think that is key.WWE getting its shit together and trending upwards makes it worse for that small subset of fans.
I was disappointed in Torrie also. Back in the day she was my girl. The Torrie that came out on Smackdown had me going, "What the hell did you do to yourself!!"I was thinking the opposite. Torrie didn't need to chop up her face but she did.
I think that is key.
I was solely a fan of AEW from 2019 to early-to-mid 2023. Didn't care for WWE's product at all, and was liking what AEW brought to the table. And 2 hours every Wednesday wasn't that big of a time commitment.
Then Cody jumped, and Sami being in the Bloodline was an interesting angle, and then when Cody came back his "finish the story" angle was a compelling draw.
Meanwhile, CM Punk grew disallusioned, ranted like a lunatic and threw hands (looking back, he probably was hoping to be fired right then, but TK tried to keep him and give him his own show which also didn't work out), exposing internal strife in AEW. What seemed at the beginning like a tight-knit group of people going all out to bring real competition with WWE to fruition became fractured when all the outside signings began to affect people's "place."
And just like that, the bloom fell off the rose.
Now, I'm following Raw and Smackdown here and there while keeping up with Dynamite but not Collision or Rampage. WWE just becoming competent was enough for people to get on board. MJF is still my favorite, and when he comes back I will definitely continue to follow him.
But AEW is just kinda broken right now and rudderless, just floating out there, and people are tuning out.
And with all the go-away heat on the Young Bucks, I don't see this new "beat up the boss" angle reversing AEW's fortunes.
Maybe there is good plastic surgery and I can't tell they've had it but there's a lot of bad out there.I was disappointed in Torrie also. Back in the day she was my girl. The Torrie that came out on Smackdown had me going, "What the hell did you do to yourself!!"
I think that is key.
I was solely a fan of AEW from 2019 to early-to-mid 2023. Didn't care for WWE's product at all, and was liking what AEW brought to the table. And 2 hours every Wednesday wasn't that big of a time commitment.
Then Cody jumped, and Sami being in the Bloodline was an interesting angle, and then when Cody came back his "finish the story" angle was a compelling draw.
Meanwhile, CM Punk grew disallusioned, ranted like a lunatic and threw hands (looking back, he probably was hoping to be fired right then, but TK tried to keep him and give him his own show which also didn't work out), exposing internal strife in AEW. What seemed at the beginning like a tight-knit group of people going all out to bring real competition with WWE to fruition became fractured when all the outside signings began to affect people's "place."
And just like that, the bloom fell off the rose.
Now, I'm following Raw and Smackdown here and there while keeping up with Dynamite but not Collision or Rampage. WWE just becoming competent was enough for people to get on board. MJF is still my favorite, and when he comes back I will definitely continue to follow him.
But AEW is just kinda broken right now and rudderless, just floating out there, and people are tuning out.
And with all the go-away heat on the Young Bucks, I don't see this new "beat up the boss" angle reversing AEW's fortunes.
I’m in basically the same situation as both of you. I loved AEW early on when the story’s felt more compelling and they carried wrestling during the pandemic but now the product is as stale as it could be and they have way too many shows with everyone on them. They need a brand split. They also need to get rid of rampage.I’m similar to you. I’ve watched wrestling since the late 80s but saw a few periods where interest waned (93-96; 04-06; 15-18). I was sick of WWE and the prospects of a new company were exciting.
I dove all in to AEW in 2019 with an open mind. I enjoyed it because it was different than WWE, but even then, it wasn’t perfect and felt a little indy-riffic for my preferences. But I still watched and supported the company.
In summer 2021 I proclaimed AEW as being miles ahead of WWE. And, as you mentioned, the Punk signing + TK seemingly scooping up every released NXT talent there was made it feel like WWE-lite and it also splintered the fans (and talent). Some wanted the change to bring in a few “names”
from the other side, others thought it ruined their special club (I liken it to a well known underground band finding mainstream success. The audience broadened but the hardcores from the beginning thinks the band “sold out” because the exclusive club wasn’t as exclusive as it once was.)
I think you nailed it with the rudderless reference. AEW can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be its own thing for a subset of the wrestling fanbase or if it wants to continue to look like WWE’s desperate little brother. I would encourage the former because, as we saw with TNA, constantly having WWE’s name in their mouth makes them seem inferior.
I think to officially separate the rosters because last year Vince came back around draft time and ****ed up some plans. Now they can do a legitimate brand split.😂 seriously what is the point in this draft?!
They just basically kept what he put into place last year. I'm pretty sure Strowman had already gone to Raw with Ricochet before he got injured. Everyone else stayed where they were besides LWO and Nia Jax.I think to officially separate the rosters because last year Vince came back around draft time and ****ed up some plans. Now they can do a legitimate brand split.
You also had Shinsuke, the NXT’ers, and a couple of others. Like I said I think it’s just a way for them to make the brand split they meant to have last year official.They just basically kept what he put into place last year. I'm pretty sure Strowman had already gone to Raw with Ricochet before he got injured. Everyone else stayed where they were besides LWO and Nia Jax.
Yes, but there was not enough major moves to constitute a draft. The whole point of a draft is to mix things up and give the opportunities for new/fresh rivalries and different matches. I'm sorry but Shinsuke going to Smackdown doesn’t give me any new rivalries or matches to look forward to.You also had Shinsuke, the NXT’ers, and a couple of others. Like I said I think it’s just a way for them to make the brand split they meant to have last year official.
You could argue that it would be more beneficial to make the draft a streaming special on Peacock and keep going with what they normally do for weekly TV. Hell, put it on live on Wednesday night just to **** with Dynamite’s ratings.Yes, but there was not enough major moves to constitute a draft. The whole point of a draft is to mix things up and give the opportunities for new/fresh rivalries and different matches. I'm sorry but Shinsuke going to Smackdown doesn’t give me any new rivalries or matches to look forward to.
The LWO doesn't get me excited about any new match opportunities on Raw. The same tag teams that have been on Raw/Smackdown are still on the same shows.
The changes were so minute that they could've just not had a draft and just announced call-ups and the switching of the few who did change.
It just didn't make sense to do this whole big thing for the results we got.
It's like if the NFL did a fantasy draft and every player was thrown into a pool and were up for grabs for any team, but each team just drafted the same exact roster they already had but a few teams switched who their backup punter was.
Goldberg killed WCW. And the AWA, NWA, IWA MS, and stampede wrestling. Also probably poisoned Stu and HelenFinally watched the Sherri Martel "Dark Side of the Ring" last night. One of the most depressing ones they've had.
The Sandman one should be interesting tonight.
Speaking of Vice, I'll watch this just for the Bret Hart takes alone.
Last night they made sure to announce Bianca is the first black woman to picked first in the draft. I imagine that had something to do with it.Bianca Bel Air going with the #1 pick is like picking Anthony Bennett with the first pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
Too bad they don't have Nyla Rose on the roster. They could have really been progressive by drafting him/her first overall.Last night they made sure to announce Bianca is the first black woman to picked first in the draft. I imagine that had something to do with it.
I don’t anyone pays much attention to the minor PLE bc it’s more about storyline progression and the major PLE (rr/wm/ss/ss) are where the big things happen like title changes and big returns like punk.- Thought the Draft overall was meh but it needed to be done as a bit of a reset and now Raw is absolutely loaded going into the summer. It's insane how good the Punk and Drew stuff is even when one or now both are injured. Just a testament to putting business first. Without Punk there or that injury during the Rumble match, Drew is probably feuding with Sami and then maybe Sheamus.
- The NXT call-ups were wholesome af. Loved seeing their true reactions as if they were in college waiting to hear their names called in the green room. We've got Papa H and now Papa HBK.
- In "what will he say next" Tony Khan news, he did an interview with TMZ Sports in which he said his Weinstein WWE comments got tons of coverage for AEW. So if you thought he would stop the anti-WWE stuff and focus on his own brand, he clearly thinks this strategy is working for him and his company. In other words, expect more stupid things to fall out of his mouth.
- Backlash has no heat and overall, feels pretty mediocre. Maybe there shouldn't be a PLE weeks after WM.
- And one more, it's booking more than anything but right now, I was wrong about Priest. He doesn't feel like a world champion and Drew needs the belt asap. You can't do weeks of Truth comedy and Judgement Day club house routines with Finn, JD, and Dom making asses out of themselves and then expect Priest to be taken seriously as a champion. Turns out, Rhea Ripley was the Judgement Day.
I don’t anyone pays much attention to the minor PLE bc it’s more about storyline progression and the major PLE (rr/wm/ss/ss) are where the big things happen like title changes and big returns like punk.
True. I mean, the crowd should be hot since it's France and I'll check it out but it's just hard to believe Damien Priest vs Jey Uso for the (Raw) title is a real thing lol.I don’t anyone pays much attention to the minor PLE bc it’s more about storyline progression and the major PLE (rr/wm/ss/ss) are where the big things happen like title changes and big returns like punk.
The good news is the ratings for Collision were overall very good.
However the bad news, the first segment started with 1.35 million viewers and a .49 in the demo.
By the end of the show it was down to 440,000 viewers and a .15 in the demo.
By the end of Rampage is was down to 276,000 and a .08
Jey Uso should have been demoted to US title status after that WrestleMania matchTrue. I mean, the crowd should be hot since it's France and I'll check it out but it's just hard to believe Damien Priest vs Jey Uso for the (Raw) title is a real thing lol.